The Crusaders That Leap Through Time, Space & Reality
by VoyeurTheNinja
Summary: 13 years after the Rebellion, a group of Magi lead by Kaname Tatsuya struggle on a race beyond time as they attempt to free the God form of Kaname Madoka from the Devil's prison. Carrying iron determination, they are the one whom the sun shines on as they pave the road with their golden spirits. A Tarot card dealt for every single one of them, their fates are bounded by destiny.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Yes, another story. While my others lie in-updated. I can barely touch my stories as they are since life's in the way. But I actually spent time to fully plan on this one instead of uploading the first chapter and building everything from that tiny seed. Curse my younger self for not thinking far enough for my older stories. Also, credit to BadBoy17 for giving me the idea for this.**_

* * *

It had been nearly 13 years ever since the birth of the omnipotent, all-powerful being known as Akuma Homura, a devil whose love broke the laws of reality itself, a Puella Magi who transformed into a demon with the power to shape the universe as she saw fit. The time-traveler who had gone on a mission to save her friend, Kaname Madoka, was long gone. Now nothing more than a cold shell of her former self, who knew no difference between the life in a prison and sanctuary, wanting nothing more than the complete safety of her friend, even if it meant taking away her God-like powers.

But over the years, despite this Devil living among them in plain sight, the lives of the Mitakihara Puella Magi had been relatively peaceful. Aside from the usual encounters with the Wraiths, demons made up of Humanity's negative energy, Kaname Madoka, Sakura Kyoko, Miki Sayaka, Momoe Nagisa and Tomoe Mami had grown into fine, young women. Unaware of the Devil among them, time flowed normally in this recreated universe with the Devil watching them from the shadows.

For the race known as the "Incubators", the hive-mind race continued to remain as slaves to the Devil. For years, they remained tightly held in the her cold, iron grip, unable to pry it open and free themselves with even some Incubators disconnecting from their hive-mind. Nevertheless, even if they managed to escape, the only one capable of standing up to the Devil was Kaname Madoka, who had her God-like powers sealed away 13 years ago. Now, she remained a normal girl, unable to see through the lies of her 'peace'.

But now, after years of this false peace being draped over the universe and hiding everything the Devil knew, fate calls upon the arriving of events that would bend time and space itself, as many Puella Magi had dreamed of the Devil and their imprisoned Goddess, along with the arrival of individuals that would shatter this illusion of prosperity and free their God.

Underneath the Devil's nose, and with the assistance of a Puella Magi group named "The Maidens of Battle", the Incubators had developed devices that will undoubtedly help them and the upcoming saviors in the journey to overthrow the Devil and release the imprisoned God of this reality. The watery lake of time was now flowing into a rocky stream of ordeals, and not even the Devil herself can hold back this flow. No dam will stop fate and doing so would only muddy the waters. It is the fate the universe has decided to take, and it will not be stopped.

* * *

During a frozen night in the thick forests of Germany, the moon hid in the shrouds of swirling clouds as the wind howled like hungry wolves. The cold claimed the lives of anything wandering in the stormy blizzard, as they would have to fight both the freezing cold and the animals that prowled among the area for prey. But among the trees, built in a wide opening, was a large mansion one could call a sanctuary; It had its windows shut and its large gates guarded by large animals of thick, brown fur and sharp claws.

The road that led into its gates was covered in snow which hid the minefield that surrounded the entire perimeter. On the rooftops, patrols composed of Puella Magi were to hard be seen watching from their bird-nests with long-range weapons pointed at all directions. The skull of a grizzly bear was half-buried a few meters away from the gates, decomposed long ago.

Inside the building's enormous ball room, there were 3 long, rectangular tables lined up next to each other in the darkness and a podium build it front of five large windows. The room was dimly lit and warmed by candles placed on each table and sitting on the chairs were Puella Magi of various ages, all dressed in ceremonial garbs and hoods. Altars and shrines filled the room, built to admire and worship a deity of a time long past. The 98 Puella Magi sitting in the room muttered a hush prayer, inaudible due to the wind outside.

Striding into the room was a young woman, sharply dressed in a combination of a ball gown and battle armor. An ornate sword sheathed at her hip, her blonde hair was tied into a braid as she held an overwhelming aura of discipline with her posture. She marched up onto to the podium, placing her armored hands on its edges as the silent prayer stopped along with the wind.

She scanned the entire room and her commanding voice echoed as she spoke, "Before we start the meeting, I would like to thank you all for coming here. I welcome the Maidens who had gathered here today, old and new, for your dedication to our cause. It is without a doubt that making this - this rebel group - was not an easy task. But, after years of preparation with the Incubator's rogues, we have finally gathered the strength we need to become a full-fledged army."

"Also, thanks to our scouts from Clover's regiment, we have finally located her. The one we see in our nightmares, the one who imprisoned Her and the one who rules over this universe with an iron grip," she hesitated slightly, seeing some uneasiness among the tables, "The Devil."

A few of the Puella Magi among the tables shuddered in fear of that name, the candle flames flickering among the murmuring. Their attention was brought to bare again when the tallest members of each table slammed their fists on the table. Their leader continued, giving the her officers an acknowledging and grateful nod.

"As Canoness of the Maidens of Battle, I, Selena Bismarck, announce that in the next few days, we will march over to Akemi Homura's domain and strike her down in Her name with the tools the Incubators brought to us," Selena unsheathed her blade and raised it triumphantly in the air, "We have lived in the shadows all this time, hidden from the Devil's all-seeing eye. But no more of that shall happen. No. It is time we free Her, the savior of the past, as she calls to us for help!"

"Praise the Forgotten Savior," the Puella Magi chanted in sync, "For she protects and watches over us, her children."

Nodding, Selena sheathed her weapon and stepped down from the podium, "Carry on to your quarters, Maidens, for we will need rest for our journey."

The Puella ushered another prayer and stood up from their seats to be guided back to their quarters by Selena's subordinates. They marched in uniform order as they exited the room and extinguished the candles of the table. Selena's armor disappeared into shining particles to reveal a simple dress with her Soul Gem connected to prayer beads hanging around her neck. She was about to take her leave when one of the guards came through the door to give her a message.

She bowed respectfully, a head taller than Selena as she reported, "Canoness Bismarck, Priestess Feuer would like to speak with you in her quarters."

"Thank you, Tallus. I shall see to her," she clapped the guard's shoulder, leaving the bowing guard with a nod. As she exited the room, Selena rolled her shoulders in exhaustion, thinking to herself with a weary frown, _"A few more days... A few more days I must carry this burden of leadership..."_

* * *

In one of the many corridors of the mansion, altars, shrines and stone statues decorated the candle-lit halls. Maidens could be seen regularly patrolling the area and giving respectful bows to Selena when they passed her. Selena would acknowledge them before walking away, as she always did for her 3-years stay in this mansion, which was before abandoned. The Maidens had done a good job of rebuilding the place into a base of operations while the Incubator's devices hid their activities from the Devil's eye.

The burden and stress that came with this was always a problem for Selena, having founded this group when she was just 15 years-old. It was the meeting with the Incubators that gave her this duty, one that made her exhausted for hundreds of sleepless nights. Nevertheless, she bore this pain, as she had asked for this herself.

Making her way up a flight of spiral stairs, her thoughts were cut off as another one of her officers blocked her path. Her second-in-command, who wore a pair of tight shorts and a long-sleeved shirt with dark engravings, fiddled with a toothpick in her mouth as her curly hair had streaks of red. Her smile was devilish as ever and she looked like she wanted something.

"Merry Clover," Selena greeted her coldly, "Was there something you wanted?"

Clover snickered, speaking with an accent of American, "Oh, I just wanted to congratulate you for that 'praise-worthy' speech, almighty Canoness Bismarck," she leaned on the railing, raising a brow, "If it's one thing you deserve, it's a good pat on the back after everything you did."

Despite her attitude, Selena was only mildly offended, having suffered from this girl's attitude the moment they met, "Please, get out of my way, Clover. Need I remind you that you rank as Celestial does not allow you to pester me whenever you please?" Selena dismissed her, walking up the stairs until she passed by her. She reached the end of the stairs, which lead to a door and gripped its knob.

"One last thing, Canoness: Try not to get your panties in a bunch too much, will ya'?" Merry spat out her toothpick and pocketed her hands while leaving, "The last thing we need is a leader that can't even lead an army."

Selena heard a laugh as she opened the door, a visible scowl on her face.

* * *

Closing the door behind her, Selena leaned on it and let out a sigh of relief. Merry was an important part of the Maidens due her competence and skills, but her attitude was unneeded. Now in the highest part of the mansion, Selena was alone in a small room with a young girl sitting in front of a table far from where she stood. The room was lit by a single candle and had a single bed with a window built above it.

Selena approached the young Maiden who wore a simple night gown, a pair of red-rimmed glasses and a scarf tied around her neck. Her aqua hair reached her shoulders as she played with a suit of cards of the famous Tarot deck. A deck of 22 cards known for their divinatory and occult suggestions of one's fate. The girl was completely engrossed in it until Selena called out to her.

"Meer, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Priestess Meer Feuer, one of the only Puella Magi that were not present for Selena's speech. Despite this, she was of Selena's top ranged-fighters, and a fortune-teller to boot. Unsual for someone who was only around 15 years of age.

The girl looked at Selena with an aloof look, facing her with the rest of her body. Meer did not speak, with reasons one could tell from the scars on her neck that were visible from small openings on her scarf. Instead, she pointed to the window which emitted a creaking noise.

Selena looked behind to face a white cat-like creature standing on the windowsill with long, ringed tassels extending from its ears and an abundant amount of permanent scars on its body. It stared at Selena with beady, red eyes, having a mouth in the shape of a curved sigma symbol.

"Nibey," Selena warmly greeted the Incubator with a smile, "It's been too long since you've came to visit us."

The Incubator hopped down to the bed below it and shook the snow of its furred body, waving a bruised tail in the chilly air. Unlike other members of its race, Nibey was deemed with its species rare illness of 'emotions' and thus, was severed from its hivemind and given free will, along with a name from the Maidens. At the cost of being revived at the time of death.

"I've been waiting to see you," Nibey bowed his head respectfully, "You've done well in creating this rebel group without my help."

Selena sat next to the small animal and brushed off some snow from his head, "Are you here to tell us about the tools you promised us?"

"Yes. The Ripple vials are being delivered as speak and should arrive here by tomorrow morning. With those, you should be able to take on the Devil head-on. Meer, show her the sample I gave you."

Meer promptly took out a small vial from her pocket, shaking its red, blood-like contents that sparked beautifully as she showed it to the Maiden's leader. She gave it to Selena for a closer look and she gulped, "Will these be enough for our battle with the Devil?"

Nibey's ears flickered at her doubt as Meer's expression asked the same question, "If used correctly, it would help you, of course. If you'd like, that other weapon we have experimented on can-"

"No. There is no need to use that one," Selena cut him off, passing back the vial to Meer who stored it in a small, metal casing, "If the worst comes to be, then we will use it. I thank you for these. We will use then well. Now, was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

The Incubator scratched his ears with his hind legs, answering, "There is nothing else. Now then, I wish you luck in your journey to Mitakihara. May She watch over both of you, Canoness Bismark and Priestess Feuer, and may she light your paths."

The two Maidens brought a closed hand to their chests and bowed slightly, the Incubator taking his leave through where he entered. With that farewell, he disappeared into the night and left the girls by themselves. Selena took her exit to the door, where she stopped to ask.

"Meer, can I ask something of you?"

The Priestess cocked her head to one side, fiddling with a card labelled 'The Magician'.

"I'll be assigning you to Merry's task force. I want you to keep an eye on her. Lately, she's been acting suspicious, more so than usual. Can you do that?"

Meer nodded like a diligent child, making an A-OK hand sign.

"Thank you," Selena left the room and closed the door shut. She headed down the stairs, muttering a prayer of strength to herself.

That night, a total force of 100 Puella Magi slept peacefully in their dorms with 20 more Puella Magi patrolling inside and outside the mansion. They needed a good night's sleep if they were to start their journey to Mitakihara. But, no matter what, they will never be fully ready for the foe they were about to face in a bloody battle. As Aesop's fables once said, "It is one thing to say that something should be done, but quite a different matter to do it."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a far-away place detached from the real world, lightning flashed among thick gatherings of dark clouds as thunder clapped at tremendous volumes. Beneath then was an island in the middle of an violent ocean of red. An enormous, towering castle of European design stood like an imposing behemoth, fit for its owner living inside it.

It was place no mere mortal would dare to enter. It was the domain of the Devil.

In a wide room built in the tallest part of the castle, there was a long king-sized bed surrounded by all sorts of decorations and furniture. The seldom light from the lightning shined on bodies of dead Incubators scattered on the bloodied floor, a tall, slender woman standing at the entrance of the room's balcony.

Her long, raven hair was picked up by a breeze. Her amethyst earings jingled as she moved. Her face obscured by shadows as she let out a low groan of irritance, "I felt it again," her voice was that of a siren, "I feel the presence of something arriving... I can feel them, but I cannot see them..."

Her right hand gripped her left tense shoulder, the purple fingernails tracing her nightgown's strap, "Could they be...? No. No Puella Magi can avoid my detection. Unless-" her high-heels stomped on the body of an Incubator, "They are assisting them," she looked at the ocean through her balcony window, watching the churning red sea with a growing smirk, "Hmph. If there are those that oppose me, then... let them come. I have imprisoned a god through my birth alone and an ascension that allowed me to create this world for her."

She kicked away the corpse at her feet and it hit the wall with a sickening crunch.

"I, Akemi Homura, will do anything to keep her, and this world, safe."


	2. Chapter 1: Arc 1 - A Time of Peace

_"Tatsuya... Tatsuya, please wake up," _a voice calls, seemingly distant and alone.

_"S-Sister...?"_

_"Tatsuya, help me... please," _she begged, sounding hurt and tearful.

_"Sister? Where are you, sister...?"_

_"Tatsuya... free me..."_

_"Sister!"_

The alarm clock on Kaname Tatsuya's bedside table let out a high-pitched ring which made the 16 year-old's eyes suddenly shot open. He stared at the poster-filled ceiling of his room, realizing it was morning, before a hand from his side lifted itself and silenced the noisy alarm clock. Unaware of what was he dreaming about, Tatsuya sat up on his bed, ruffling his messy, dark pink hair and yawning.

"A dream?" he whispered, rubbing a closed eye. He had lost count of how many times he had dreamed of something so vague, "How many times has this happened already?"

He looked to his bedside clock and saw that it was past 6.45 AM, nearly the time for school. Turning his absent look to his room, a shelf of books and novels was to his right, maps of the world were plastered on his wall with pictures famous explorers, and the holographic DVD player near his bed was still turned on. There was an open casing of _Indiana Jones_ lying on the carpeted floor, which Tatsuya picked it up and placed back in his DVD drawer, pressing a button on the wall to turn off his movie player.

"Tatsuya, wake up! It's time for school!" he heard his older sister call to him from downstairs.

Getting up, Tatsuya yawned as he made his way to the bathroom, too sleepy to be eager for his first day in his last year of school, "Well, time to start the day," he yawned.

After a hot shower which woke up the teen, he put on up the brown and black uniform of Mitakihara Middle-School, uncomfortably shifting his shoulders since it was getting smaller the more he grew. After making sure everything was turned off, he pocketed his favorite book, put on a small pocket-watch around his neck and headed downstairs. The place was the same advanced design of glass window panes it had been ever since he moved here from America, and he was only 3 years-old back then. He wondered if it was ever going to change.

* * *

In the kitchen that was combined with the dining room, his older sister, Kaname Madoka, a young adult of 27 years, was preparing breakfast as she wore the business suit that her mother gave to her when she reached 21. Sharply dressed for work, an apron was tied over it and her bright pink hair was let down to reach her back. She was placing a hot pan of bread on the table with a pair of oven mitts when she heard her brother coming down. Putting aside the apron and mitts, she poured some juice into two cups with a glass pitcher.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she happily greeted Tatsuya as he came with his new school bag that Madoka bought for him, "Good morning, Tatsuya! Does the uniform still fit?"

"Somewhat. But I can bear with it. It's not like it'll rip or anything," he sat down on the table, putting down his bag and picking a piece of toasted bread from the plate, "Has mother and father's plane reached New York, yet?" he asked, as there was a soft crunch from biting down on the loaf. As usual, Madoka's cooking was delightful was ever.

"Yup. They called me this morning when they landed," Madoka sat down in front of him and took her daily cup of coffee in hand, chuckling, "Mama sounded so excited to be back in America for a few months."

Tatsuya chuckled through a mouthful of bread, "I just pray that father keeps her alcohol-intake in line. By the way, is Nagisa here, yet?"

"She sent me a message just now. She says she's coming in a few minutes," Madoka took out her cell phone which created a holographic display of said message, "She says that Mami got her a new bike, too, after-" she giggled nervously, "You know..."

A small chill went up Tatsuya's spine, his face suddenly drained, "Please... let's not speak about that. You promised."

His response got a laugh from his taller sibling, which made him fluster, "Okay, okay. But I mean, she's been babysitting you ever since you were 4. You two looked so-"

"Oh, look at the time. I think Nagisa might here by now," he gobbled down his fourth piece of bread, dusted his hands, finished his juice in one go and hoisted his bag over his shoulder. He made a quick effort to the door with a red face, "I'll see you after school!"

As she waved him off, there was a big, amused smile on Madoka's face. She still remembered the days when Tatsuya barely knew how to talk or walk, and now he was a teenager in his last year of middle-school. She loved the days where she would carry him in her arms, but, she guessed time flies by when you're having fun. After finishing her coffee, she knew it was time for her leave as well. Madoka promptly washed the dishes, placed them on the shelf to dry, took up her suitcase and headed for the garage with a car key.

* * *

Exiting the house, the cold, morning breeze greeted Tatsuya as the pocket watch around his neck shook from his running. He stopped at the sidewalk, where he placed his bag down, sighing as he waited for Nagisa to arrive. The neighborhood was still peaceful as ever, the sun slowly rising from the horizon as a couple of squirrels ran pass Tatsuya's feet. A couple of cars drove past the boy and he see other students from the neighboring houses walking to school as group of friends or pairs. It was the first day of school as a senior, and boy was it going to get tough. Maintaining a balance between studying and playing was going to be difficult. But, that was just how life goes. You struggle till the day to you die.

Taking out his favorite book and reaching a page that had a bookmark in the shape of a cartoonish-looking cheese, he let the pages grab all his attention as nothing could bring him back to reality once he started. He always loved reading when he was a kid, hearing about the the stories famous explorers and heroes as he found the thrills of adventures fun and exciting. He wished he could be like them, going on an death-defying journey to save his loved ones while sometimes sacrificing their lives at the end of the story. It sounded so heroic, so significant.

He would have finished a significant number of pages if it wasn't for the sudden noise of a motorcycle engine roaring down the street. Putting away his book and sighing, he already knew who that was. But Tatsuya's eyes widened when it wasn't a scooter or a moped that arrived in the neighborhood to pick him up for school, but a chopper motorcycle with tall handlebars, a stretched frame, and a bold paint scheme of gold, white and black.

Tatsuya was speechless as the rider nonchalantly parked her bike in front of him and took off her helmet that had cat ears on it. The rider's long, silver hair was tied into a tomboyish pony-tail, her smile was that of a exuberant child, and despite being 8 years older than the boy before her, she was about his height, if not shorter if she got off her motorcycle for a comparison. On her gloved finger, she wore a ring that a four-sided flower that was given to her by her older sister-figure, Mami Tomoe. It was similar to the hairpin Mami Tomoe tend to wore from what Tatsuya remembered, but that was not what he was going to ask about.

"Why... Why did you get that bike...?"

Nagisa tugged at the collar of her leather jacket and seemed to have missed the meaning of his question, "Well my old bike broke, so Mami got this for me last night," she cheerfully answered, tapping the engine with a gloved finger, "She said that I could get anything I wanted (as long as I don't break it again)."

"No, I mean why a **chopper**, out of all things?! I mean you could have-"

"Well, it was the cheapest that they got, so yeah. There was another cheap scooter like my old one, but I didn't come with this color. I wanted it to be the favorite colors of Mami and I!"

Tatsuya gave her blank stare, then just gave up on even talking about this any further, "I... Ah, just give me my helmet, Nagi. I'm already late for school," he caught a salmon-colored helmet tossed to him and put it on, fastening the straps, putting on his bag and sitting behind Nagisa as the silver-haired driver revved up the engine.

"With this thing, we'd be there in no time!" she boasted, the bike spinning around to the direction from where it came from. Twisting the handle hard, Tatsuya shirked as the bike sped out of the area with a loud noise that mostly like everyone in the neighborhood had heard. Tatsuya clung onto Nagisa's waist as he had expected to ride something slower and much, much safer, "What'd you think of the bike, Tatsu?!"

"You're crazy, you know that?!" Tatsuya exclaimed as he held on tight.

She clicked her tongue, mimicking the sound of a lighter as she exclaimed in gratuitous English, "Yes, I am!"

Nagisa Momoe, a girl who had befriended Tatsuya when he was just 4, Tatsuya had lost count of how many times he had gone on rides with her that made him hold her like this. If it was thing he knew she liked, there was none, since Nagisa loved the feeling of going on rides that would nearly get herself speeding if she went any higher or anything that could get her this excited. It was something he had to deal with for years.

* * *

The city of Mitakihara, a capital filled with hundreds of landmarks, sites, tourist attractions, shopping-district zones and people. The center of the capital was a bustling city of trade and shops, monorail trains zooming at top speeds to send workers to their offices as the city hasn't changed a bit over the years, in a bad nor good way. The farther parts of the city had undergone some renovation to clear out some abandoned areas, but that was about it. The city still stood proud to this very day, bearing a total population of about a hundred thousand people.

What also has not changed was the middle-school of Mitakihara, an advanced school that was the first educational center to be established in the town. With its design having many glass walls, hundreds windows and wide corridors, there has been some accidents here and there. But the school was very much the same it been as Madoka previously studied here. The thought of coming back here after summer vacation was an afterthought since after 10 minutes of speeding through traffic jams, nearly hitting lamp-posts, possibly breaking the speed limit and almost running over puppy, the two came to their destination. Tatsuya sworn there were some cops chasing them, but he wished it was just his imagination.

Nagisa parked her bike on the side of the road, near the entrance of a lush park that lead to the school. The bike's crude design caught looks from some of the students that were on their way to school, but Tatsuya ignored them. Even though it was only 10 minutes, Tatsuya was already tired from that hellish ride which Nagisa called 'fun'.

"Oh, good grief," Tatsuya groaned, arms shaking as he took off his helmet and handed it back to Nagisa. It was going to take a while for him to get used to doing this every morning from now on, "Anyway, thanks for the ride," he said without looking, stepping off the bike with shaky legs, "I still wonder what was Miss Tomoe thinking when she bought you this thing..."

"No problem!" Nagisa beamed, revved the engine again, "You're coming over to the cheese-cake shop to help with the deliveries right? Mami and I have plenty of orders to deal with."

"Yes, yes," Tatsuya ran a hand through his hair and headed for the park entrance, shouting, "Tell Miss Tomoe I said 'Hi'!" he heard the sound of a motorcycle drive away, along with some police sirens which he _prayed _again that it was just his imagination.

As soon as he entered the park, Tatsuya walked on a path of bricks with other students that were either excited for their first day of school, or were complaining non-stop at the thought of studying again. Tatsuya was on the fence with this, as he never really minded it. With one hand pocketed and had the other holding the book he was reading whilst he walked, he was once again engrossed in the pages of his favorite book. Trees covered the sides of the path as they blocked some sunlight to spare the students from the heat.

Passing by a small creek, Tatsuya was too busy with his book to notice one of the students calling to him from behind.

"Oi, Tatsuya! Tatsuya! Dammit, I'm right behind you!"

It took a fifth try, but the pink-haired boy finally heard the person calling him and turned around to see another teen catching up to him, "Jean?" he recognized the boy from not only the spiky, blond hair, but also the small bandage on his cheek which covered a wound from a fencing accident, and the rose on his breast pocket which was grown in France. Jean-Baudin Victore, best friend since the start of middle-school and French exchange student.

The boy stopped in front of Tatsuya to catch his breath, hands on his knees as he laughed, "You're head's always up in the sky when you're reading something, isn't it? Man, some things just don't change."

"Heh, it's good to see you, too, Jean," Tatsuya pat him on the back, putting away his book, "How was your trip back to France?"

"Well, it was the usual," Jean gave a shrug, speaking in fluent Japanese, "Pretty women everywhere (Not like the ones here aren't or anything), I got to serve better French cooking to my sister, parents ask me if I'm doing great here with my sister, asked me if I got a girlfriend. Ah, it's so-so."

Tatsuya laughed, the two continuing their walk to school together.

"Oh, I would like to go to France someday, or maybe anywhere that isn't here." Tatsuya said, looking up at the sky, "I wonder what's it like outside Mitakihara."

"Trust me when I say this: When you reach France at night, tired and exhausted from a long-as-hell line in the airport, don't take the train. There was this one _bouboule_ that tried stealing my sister's purse. Man, was I not in the mood to keep my calm!"

"Are you ever?" Tatsuya joked with a half-smile.

"Hah! You may be right about that one."

After a few minutes of walking and talking nonstop about how it was like in France, the duo arrived at a set of tall gates that guarded the entrance to the enormous, prestigious school Tatsuya and Jean haven't seen in a while. The school, gates and thought of studying was as imposing as ever, and it was their first day of school in their last year of middle-school . It was going to be a year of hellish studying, there was no doubt in that, as the pair took their first steps pass the gates they had not visited after a while, and entered the school with the countless number of students near them.


	3. Chapter 2: A Kaname's Daily Schoolife

The first ringing bell signalled the start of classes, echoing through the numerous hallways of the prestigious middle-school as the chatting students of each class stood up and greeted their homeroom teachers respectfully when they entered the rooms. Tatsuya and Jean were at their seats in the back of the class as a woman in her late 30s walked in with her teaching materials, quietly singing to herself.

Saotome Kazuko was her name, from what Tatsuya remembered from his sister. A teacher who was here since Madoka was a student, she was a happily-married woman who loved her students greatly. His sister often told him about her friend, Sayaka and her hearing Teacher Saotome sometimes rant about past relationships in great detail when she was still single. It wasn't very easy to get used to on a daily basis.

"Alright, class, welcome back to school!" Teacher Saotome beamed, waving a long ruler, "I hope you all enjoyed your vacation and will put more than twice the effort in your studies this year," there was a collective groan from the class, "Now, now, vacation's over," she chuckled, wagging her measuring tool.

The students sat back down and Jean groaned, planting his face on the table with textbooks on the table hiding his face, "Ah, man, now I wish I was back in France picking up some ladies from the neighbourhood."

"Come on, Jean, once you finish school in a few years, you can get as much ladies as you want," Tatsuya flipped a page of his favorite book, eyes stuck to its content, "Like it or not, we're still students."

"Alright, class, take out your text books and turn to page 12, please," Teacher Saotome switched on the digital whiteboard and took out a textbook thick enough to be used as a door-stopper, "Today we will learn about your favorite topic: Maths! I hope you all revised last year's topics."

Tatsuya hesitantly put away his book, but upon feling intimidated by the display of numbers when he opened his textbook, he muttered in fear, "Oh, good grief," Tatsuya reopened his novel beneath his table and Jean sought to use his own textbook as a makeshift pillow. Tatsuya wasn't lazy when it came to his studies, but sometimes he just couldn't stomach it.

As Teacher Saotome went on with her lecture of topics like Sequences, Indices and the dreaded lessons of Algebra, Tatsuya's mind went back into the world of his novel lke a kid attracted by the smell of sweet cotton candy. He placed it on top of his textbook and made them both stand up to make it more concealed. For a while, he read for about 20-30 pages, not hearing the footsteps approaching his table.

"Kaname, can you answer this question?" he heard Kazuko's voice in front of him, sounding the same, yet, carrying a tone of dread that had a menacing presence he could feel.

Tatsuya closed his books, his novel sandwiched between his textbook's pages, and slowly looked up to see Teacher Saotome bending her ruler threatingly, almost snapping it. Jean was already up from his nap, as Tatsuya cleared his throat to answer the question he saw on the board, "Ummm... 2a+3c?"

"Good!" she happily said, despite still looking very, very angry. She went back to the front and continued with her lecture as if nothing had happened. She swung her ruler and went back to her lesson almost instantly.

Putting his book away, Tatsuya let out a quiet sigh of relief, ignoring the chuckle from Jean, "Let's not do that again."

"Whatever you say, pal. Whatever you say."

* * *

Maths class had finally ended, to the relief of almost everyone in the room. As cheery as Teacher Saotome was, rumors said that angering her would provide you with a delicious fate worse than death. A student ended up leaving the school after breaking her limit and Tatsuya assumed that when she got the chance to teach higher classes, she lost some bit of mercy Madoka used to talk about.

Now, the class were out in the track & run field, doing exercises such as the 100-meter run, pole jumps and sit-ups to the orders of their boistorous P. E teacher, Miki Sayaka. A close friend of Tatsuya's sister, she was a beaming young woman with short, blue hair and a hair clip in the shape of a musical note. There was a small, ornste ring on her finger that looked similar to the one Madoka and her other friends wore.

Teacher Miki blew her neck-held whistle, moving her arm sharply through the air like a sharp sword, "Alright, boys, time for a warm-up! Drop to the ground and give me 50!" her order came with another blow of her whistle.

Following her order, Jean and Tatsuya lied on the ground and grunted as they attempted to do a suicidal number of push-ups on the grass. The hot sun made them sweat non-stop in their P. E uniforms as the tall Teacher Miki observed her students with a cheeky grin and a hawkish glare. Her female students were on the track field, doing their most to best their torture which was tame in comparison.

"Come on, I did better when I was your age!" taunted their teacher, who folded her arms around her bust teasingly, "Is this what all you boys can do?!"

"W-Why does it have to be fifty?" Tatsuya gritted his teeth, feeling his arms slowly go out from the first 12 push-ups. He looked at the Frenchman and could barely say his next words, "How are y-you holding up, Jean?"

"Heh, I've been through worst," Jean laughed, a cocky grin on his face which had an expression of despair, "A-Although, maybe I shouldn't have stopped doing my daily exercises when I was in France. My arms are freaking k-killing me."

"Faster, faster!" Teacher Miki shouted, stomping the ground, "Anyone who agrees to do this and a run in the track field gets their number lowered to 25!"

Jean and Tatsuya's arms gave out the moment that announcement reached their ears. After some long panting for air, they picked themselves up and joined the girls in the run with some of the other boys. It was now their legs' turn to go out and suffer.

"That's the spirit!" Teacher Miki laughed and blew her whistle.

After a tiring number of 25 push-ups to break their arms, and a exhausting run on the track field with the girls to break their legs, Tatsuya and Jean rested underneath a nearby tree for the remainder of class. They both sweated profusely and shared a water bottle since Jean had left his behind at class. Tatsuya placed his book on his head as improvised shade as the sun beat down on them, as if it was actively trying to actively kill them through its presence alone.

"Out of all the subjects-" Jean panted, wiping his sweaty bandaged cheek, "-we have to take during this damn heat. Goddammit, Teacher Miki, show us some mercy, you old hag!" the blonde exclaimed loudly into the sky with an angry fist.

"Who's this 'old hag' you're talking about, huh?" Teacher Miki suddenly popped from behind the tree, startling Jean as she giggled like a teenager that hasn't grown up. A hand to her chest, she teasingly accused the boy, "You're not possibly talking about me, are you?"

"I.. Urgh... Maybe...?" he scratched his sweaty cheek again.

"Hey, sister Miki," Tatsuya greeted her, wiping his oily forehead with a towel. He found the presence of a person he saw as an older sister making the heat more tolerable,"It's been a while."

Teacher Miki leaned on the tree, popping into her mouth a small, red sweet she had in her pocket and skillyfully throwing it into a nearby trash can, "How's Madoka? 'She still the same as usual?"

"Somewhat. It's not like anything weird has happened lately," he sat up straight and stretched his body, cracking a joint or two. Tatsuya still felt sore from the exercises, "How goes living with sister Sakura?"

Before the teacher could answer, Jean put a closed fist to his mouth and coughed, whispering to his friend, "I bet it must be nice for two girls to be living alone together. You know what I'm saying?" he said with a perverse smile, making his friend fluster in reply.

"I heard that, Frenchie!"

"You're supposed to hear it, you old hag!"

"Now, now, let's not argue in the heat..."

Although he did his best to prevent the argument from getting hotter as the temperature was right now, it was futile. But Jean eventually got a punishment of 60 push-ups after they were both caught by another teacher who had heard their shouting from inside the school. As for Teacher Miki, she was sent to be disciplined by the head teacher for inappropriate behavior. It was the 8th time the two had argued like this, and it didn't get any better this year either.

* * *

After a lengthy class of physical education and some rather 'interesting' topics in Biology class on reproduction, break time came to be. Although some weren't so keen on eating after the presentation they watched, Tatsuya and Jean took out their food and headed up to the rooftop. Expectantly, the roof was clean as always and well-designed as the rest of the school. The weather was fair with the sun now hiding behind some clouds, the wind blowing on the two lone boys on the roof as they sat on a stone bench.

Opening up his lunchbox, Tatsuya's stomach growled at the sight of the glorious, healthy meal his sister had prepared for him. Jean would have been envious of him if he didn't have the loaf of bread in his bag, brought with him from his hometown where it was baked by professionals that had made it right in front of Jean with amazing expertise.

Jean bit a piece off his meal, chewing with sheer ecstasy, "Ah, I missed eating this. Wasn't very kind to my wallet, though," he hungrily bit off another piece and opened his lunchbox for some condements.

Clasping his hands and thanking his sister who was currently at work for the gratious meal, Tatsuya ate with a pair of readied chopsticks and took a mouthful of rice and sliced beef. The wasabi he had in his lunchbox was burning hot, yet, delicious at the same time.

"Hey, Tatsuya, you think the clubs are gonna open any time soon?" Jean started a conversation, shaking some pepper onto his bread. He violently sneezed when some of it got into his nose, nearly making him drop his meal, "Goddammit it!"

Tatsuya wondered for a bit about his question, chopsticks still in his mouth as he looked out into the view of the city in front of them, "I think they're going to open in a few weeks. Why?"

"Well-" he rubbed his nose and put away his pepper, zipping up his lunchbox, "-you're gonna join the Archery club again, right? My hand's been itching to get back into fencing."

"Maybe. The Archery club never really held my interest that much actually," the pink-haired boy gave a shrug and took a second mouthful of food into his mouth, "Maybe I should I join the book club instead?" Tatsuya said with a full mouth.

"Aw, come on. You were one of the best in the team. Even your sister was happy when you joined them last year!" the Frenchman raised a finger to add to his point, "One last year with them can't hurt."

Tatsuya shrugged again, but seemed to consider the choice, "I guess I could do it for our last year here."

"That's the spirit!" Jean exclaimed, playfully slapping him on the back and making Tatsuya cough up some of his food by accident, "Oh... sorry about that," he took out a napkin and wiped his coughing friend's face, patting him on the back. The school bell then rang and caught the attention of both students, "Oh, crap, English is next!" he shoved the entire bread into his mouth and quickly packed up his lunchbox, Tatsuya doing the same with a mouthful of meat.

Rushing back down, they ran through the hallways to head back to class, ducking past teachers and other students on the way. Suddenly, Tatsuya stopped in his tracks, swallowed his food and examined his neck area with a hand, exclaiming in horror, "M-My pocket watch! I-I left it back up!"

"Are you serious?! Whe- How?!"

Tatsuya checked his pockets for his memoir of his family that was given to him by his mother with a picture of the family when they had moved to Mitakihara. He was going to sprint back up when they heard a rattling chain.

"Looking for this?" Teacher Miki appeared behind Jean, smirking as she swung a pocket watch in her hand by the chain. Wagging a disapproving finger, she clicked her tongue, "What kind of little brother leaves a gift his mother gave to him?"

The aforementioned brother laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "T-Thank you, sister Miki," he caught his tossed pocket watch and opened it up to see that it and the picture of his family was still in good condition. He sighed in relief, putting back around his neck, "That was close."

"If you lose that again, I ain't helping you," Teacher Miki turned around, her neck-held whistle swinging as she did, "Head back to class already, you two. I doubt you wanna be late for this one."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am!" they replied in sync and continued their rush back to their classroom, the Teacher smiling as she walked away.

* * *

Thus, after hours and hours of studying, telling new teachers how to pronounce their names, meeting new 'mysterious' transfer students and some more arguing between Jean and Teacher Miki, the final bell rang and signalled the end of the school day. It was past 3 PM in the afternoon when the students flooded out of the classrooms to hang out in places like shopping malls and cafes.

Affer retrieving their bags from their lockers, Tatsuya and Jean headed down to the lobby where students were either waiting for their parents to pick them up or hurrying out of the school with their friends to elsewhere. Looking out the windows, dark rain clouds began to gather in the skies.

"Oh, and only now it decides to rain," Jean angrily pointed that out, referring to this morning's scorching heat during Physical Education. He checked his bag of he brought an umbrella, to find none, "Ah, I should really should have checked my bag before school..."

Teacher Miki, looking tired and beat from teaching, walked up to them with her bag slung over one shoulder. Still wearing her track clothing from just now, she wore a pair of blue spectacles, "Ah, the day's finally ended," she said in a dead monotone, "And now it's going to rain. Great. Just what I needed."

Tatsuya gave her a pitiful look, guessing the head teacher wasn't so merciful to her after two more fights with his best friend. He shook her shoulder, asking while not wanting to bother her, "Ummm, sister Sayaka, do you mind if we carpool with you to sister Mami's cake shop?" he was confused when his words made the Teacher wince.

"Yeah... that reminds me about what happened to my car," she laughed with some sort of dementia to it, frightening the two boys who stood a few feet shorter than her, "I kinda... broke it. Kyo's supposed to be picking me up, but her car got sent for maintanence a few days ago."

"Why do you all have broken vehicles?" Tatsuya muttered under his breath, also referring to Nagisa's accident with her bike.

"So, we walk. Out there?" Jean asked flatly, jerking a thumb to the darkening skies with rumbling thunder, "You've got to be kidding me!"

The teacher was going to reply with an equally-flat tone when the doors to the lobby burst open, followed by a loud complaint that drew the attention of the trio and some students.

"Jeez, who was the asshole that thought it was a good idea to not put a freaking parking area in front of the damn school, huh?!" a foul mouth with a Pocky stick exclaimed loudly to a point where it her voice echoed through the school, belonging to a rather rude-looking woman with fiery-red hair tied into a long ponytail. The badge of a police officer adorned her long-sleeved uniform and cap, as a pistol was kept in a waist holster, an opened box of Pocky sticking out of her pocket.

Sakura Kyoko, veteran police officer of the city and the aforementioned woman who was living with Teacher Miki, she didn't notice the trio in the far parts of the lobby and instead grabbed a nearby student by the collar. She barked in his face as she had a visible sharp incisor, "Hey, four-eyes, have you seen Sayaka around?" the student whimpered in her grip like a scared puppy, "Hey, I'm talking to you 'ere. Have. You. Seen. Sayaka?!"

"Kyoko!" Teacher Miki angrily shouted at her, making her drop the student in her grip and smile at the blue-haired girl as if she did nothing wrong.

"Oh, there you are!" Officer Sakura waved at her as she walked up the trio who had flat expressions from her action, "I came here with my police car since my old one's still in the work shop. Hey, Tatsuya, Jean, how's the school life been treating ya'?" she was then confused by the glares shot at her by all three of them, as an imaginary question mark appeared above her head, "What, something on my face?" she touched her face with a white-gloved hand.

Tatsuya planted his face in his open hand and sighed, "Good grief..."


	4. Chapter 3: Hangout at Tomoe's

In the city district of Mitakihara, a speeding police car drives through the wet roads as heavy rain poured on the city. The car's wind-wipers turned on to maximum, the vehicle's wheels kicked up the water behind while its indoors were decorated extensively by its red-headed driver. Teacher Miki and Officer Sakura in the front, Tatsuya and Jean in the back, the seats smelled like food, old and new.

For someone that was supposed to be one of the city's top police women, Officer Sakura's driving was akin to drag racing. Tatsuya and Jean held on to their seats so sharp turns wouldn't them around, and it didn't help that the back seatbelts were broken by previous 'backseaters'; Teacher Miki seemed pretty used to it, as she was calmly polishing her spectacles with a red cloth.

"S-Sister Sakura," Tatsuya addressed her the same way he addressed all of his sister's best friends, "Aren't you supposed to he patrolling the neighborhood? I'm sure you have work to do," looking down, the pink-haired boy went silent at the sight of a dried bloodstain on the seat. It probably belonged to someone who didn't want a ride back to jail, or a ride with Kyoko in general.

"Nah, I'm on my break," Officer Sakura shrugged, nearly throwing the boys off with another sharp turn around a corner that sent a trash can flying into the air and crashing back down onto the pavement. Officer Sakura lifted the beak of her uniform cap slightly, looking at the mess behind her, "Woops."

"Kyoko!" Teacher Miki scolded her, "Pay attention when you're driving! If we get a scratch on this thing, we'd have to pay for it. We're spending so much on food already!"

Another turn threw Jean into the car door, his face slamming on the wet window, "Hey, can you just focus on drivin-?"

"Don't worry, Sayaka! I've been busting crooks left and right, so my pay's been pretty good," Kyoko fished out a Pocky stick from a pocket and threw it into the air, catching it between her teeth after several spins. She offered the red packet to the pair at the back, "Want one?"

"N-No, thank you," Tatsuya waved it off, a hand still clutching the latex seat.

Jean was going to answer when they hit a speed bump, making him jump and hit the ceiling. He grasped his head and cursed in his language under his breath, whining in pain.

"Come on, you two need more sugar in your blood. Ah, whatever," Officer Sakura stored it in a cup-holder.

Teacher Miki scowled, commenting with knowledge she has as a P.E teacher, "If you continue eating like that, you're gonna get fat, you know?" she teasingly poked the officer in the stomach, smiling, "I can feel it _riiiight_ here."

"H-Hey, stop that! Don't poke the driver when she's driving!" Kyoko's face turned red like her haif, slowly squirming in her seat from the teacher's assault.

The two were in their world as the two boys in the back felt downright unsure of what to feel from seeing 2 27 year-old women act like complete teenagers. Tatsuya met them when he was a 4 or 5, remembering back then that they were really, _really_ close friends; he looked at his blonde friend and gave a flat stare at the hint of blood slowly trailing down Jean's nostril.

The car radio then crackled to life, the two women cutting their fun and turning up the volume, "All forces in the area, we got a robbery at a clerk shop around street 2-41. Robbers are lightly armed and on foot. Proceed with caution."

Kyoko gasped, "Hang on, boys, that's my favorite store right there!" shifting gears and stomping the pedal with her boot, the burst of speed made the two teens sink into their seats as the police vehicle drove through the roads like a speed demon. A dog further on the road ahead jumped away to avoid turning into quick roadkill.

* * *

After getting to watch Officer Sakura punt some crooks in person, feeling sorry for the last one that begged for mercy after witnessing his allies' fates, and watching Officer Sakura being lectured by her superiors for 5 minutes, the group arrived at a small café in town. Parking underneath the sun as rain water dripped from the vehicle, Officer Sakura was the first to exit the vehicle.

"Finally! We're here," she stretched her arms, tossing her cap into the car seat to show her large, red pony-tail, "Come on, let's get something to eat!"

The other three got out of the car and Teacher Miki smiled at the view of the small café which was peppered with frilly decorations from the outside. A gold and white sign on above the door read, "Tomoe and Momoe's cake shop" the three following the redhead into the small building. Inside, there was a small bar counter with stools as circular tables were arranged around the place, waitresses walking around go serve the few customers.

Tatsuya breathed in the fresh scent of perfume, recognizing some of the sleek, but classic furniture as similar to an old Victorian inn. It even had the same cozy atmosphere thanks to good decisions of its architectural done by its owner. The group's thoughts of earlier's arrest disappeared when they entered the place and were greeted by its owner.

Wearing a uniform golden apron which complemented her bust and had a badge pinned to it, her clothes fitted with the Victorian aesthetics of her café. Slightly taller and older than the Officer and Teacher, Tomoe Mami was a blonde woman with hair tied into two thick corkscrews which rested on her shoulders and a smile that was almost motherly.

"Sup', Mami!" Officer Sakura waved at her.

"The place is the same as always, huh?" Teacher Miki looked back at the two boys behind her, who seemed happy to see the blonde woman again, "Hey, you two, greet your elders."

Tatsuya realized this and bowed, "Greetings, sister Tomoe."

Jean echoed the respectful action, putting a hand to the rose in his breast pocket, "Good afternoon, Mademoiselle."

Tomoe Mami, the woman who stood in front of them with a hand on her cheek, smiled and gave a hearty laugh. Being the senior of the two adults accompanying Tatsuya and Jean, she spoke in a respectful, calm tone that showed maturity ever since she was their age.

"It's good to see you all again. Nagisa's out for a delivery at the moment, so I might be busy with the café later. Unless you have time to spare and help around," she produced two aprons similar to hers, gesturing to the teens, "You two wouldn't mind helping, would you?"

"Why, of course!" Jean replied almost immediately, proceeding to speak out in a passionate voice, "When a lady is in need of dire help, it is a gentleman's duty to help! How about you, Tatsuya?" he nudged his best friend.

"Sure," he nodded, "If it's for sister Tomoe, I wouldn't mind at all."

Teacher Miki stifled a laugh, "'gentleman', you sure about that?" her comment went unheard by Jean, but it got a small laugh from Officer Sakura.

Miss Tomoe handed the boys their aprons and clasped her hands together, "Well then, let's get started, shall we?" she beamed as more customers arrived at the door behind them. The boys tied their uniforms around their backs smiled at each other before heading of with their work. The two adults sat down at the counter stools, the bartender pouring them a few drinks and taking their orders.

Sooner or later, the place was slowly filled with customers tired from work and seeking some good food, students who wanted a place to hang around at, and families looking for a good meal. Tatsuya and Jean bolted from table to table, taking orders from a variety of Mitakihara's populace with their joint teamwork and other waitresses. They were having some difficulties as more came, until Nagisa came back and burst through the doors with her biker helmet under one arm.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she apologized, tying back her white pony-tail on.

"Nagi!" Tatsuya called to his older but shorter friend, carrying three plates of the shops signature cheesecake to a family, "You mind helping out here? We got more customers than usual."

"Okay!" she exclaimed in English, "With me, you'll be done in a flash! This is nothing!" after some boasting, she headed to the back to change out of her biker gear. Beside the door that she went in was another that Jean came out of with a drenched apron and plunger in his hands.

"Alright, it was a pain in the ass, but the bathroom's okay now!"

Watching this ordeal were Teacher Miki and Officer Sakura, sitting on the bar stools as they sipped some of Mami's special tea. Sakura had a plate of cheesecake in hand, nearly eating it clean like the other plates piled up on the bar. The bartender expressed understandable shock from the enormous pile and Teacher Miki seemed envious of the teens, for her own reasons.

"Man, life as a student was so much more better," she shook her cup of tea, staring at her tired expression which reflected in the drink as she grumbled, "Stupid Head Teacher, I'd show her a piece of my mind on day or another..."

"Calm down, Sayaka. At least we don't have homework anymore, right?"

Teacher Miki laughed out loud, but still sounded pitiful, "Yeah, I'd rather be doing homework instead of constantly asking it from students over and over and _over_ again," she sipped down all her tea and turned back to the bartender who had just finished carrying Kyoko's enormous pile into the kitchen, "Bartender, another!"

Coming out in the golden apron and some rather frilly clothing, Nagisa joined the fray and assisted the two struggling boys in their battle, giving a high-five to both of them upon arrival. Even though she was 8-9 older than them, she looked like a more competent little sister when it came to work, since she zipped between tables like lightning. The sight brought a smile to her older sister's face when she came back in from watering the plants outside.

Miss Tomoe handed her pitcher of water to the bartender and asked her to put it back in the storage room. She joined the teacher and officer at their seats, smiling from ear to ear, "It's nice to have such nice kids helping me out here. It reminds me of ourselves when we took up part-time jobs."

Officer Sakura swallowed her 13th cake and spoke up with a lip covered in cream, "Speaking of kids, Mami, I think I remember seeing Nagisa speeding near Tatsuya's school this morning. Man, her bike is fast, so my partner and I just let her go!" she laughed, but Miki and Tomoe did not. Rather, Teacher Miki could feel a menacing aura from the blonde beside her.

"I beg your pardon, Sakura? Speeding? I shall see to this," Miss Tomoe said flatly, excusing herself from the bar and walking up to Nagisa with a rather ominous smile, "Nagi, may I see you for a second?"

"Sure! I did pretty good, right?" Teacher Miki heard that from behind as she looked away and tried to calmly drink her tea.

Oblivious to what was going on and what she had done, Officer Sakura shrugged and went back to her 14th cake while Teacher Miki did the same. Except that she plugged her ears to block out Miss Tomoe's scolding and Nagisa's pleas as her cheeks were being pinched as if she was a 6 year-old girl. Tatsuya and Jean just moved along and did their work.

* * *

The sunset light seeped through the café's polished windows as the three adults were one of the few left in the cafe. Most of the customers and part-timers had already left for home, Nagisa and the two boys having head out to a small store nearby to get some snacks. A soothing violin concert by Kamijou Kyousuke, a famous musician, could be heard over the antique radio Mami had.

Teacher Miki swung her neck-held whistle by the strap, her spectacles lying down on the counter, "Hey, you two seen Madoka lately? I heard she's been busy with work for a while."

"Well, she is the owner of her mother's company now," Miss Tomoe sipped her tea, resting the cup on a saucer plate, "If anything, it is quite normal for her to be so occupied with work now. She has to do it if she wants to support her family."

"If there's someone you be asking about, Sayaka, it's that Akemi girl," Officer Sakura interjected, "Haven't seen her in a while."

"Yeah, that's true... but it does make me worry after - well - you know."

Officer Sakura bit her fork in confusion and Miss Tomoe frowned at her words, saying, "Of course, it's not easy to forget such a thing had happened."

"Forget what?"

Teacher Miki placed her spectacles back on, explaining in a depressed tone, "Well, if I remember correctly, when Tatsuya reached the age of 13, he had a high fever when Madoka was out of the country with her mother for work. His father didn't know what to do, not even Madoka and her mother when they found out," she rubbed the blue ring on her finger, eyes closing, "After a whole year, he would have died if it wasn't for Mami and I."

"We used magic to cure him, but it was still difficult," Miss Tomoe added, passing her empty tea-cup to the bartender to wash, "It's been years since we've seen the Wraiths, so I'm sure that him, Nagi and Jean are still unaware of what had happened. The same goes for Madoka and her parents."

Officer Sakura was silent from the story, thinking about what it was like in Tatsuya's situation, "The kids' still been thinking the three of us are normal people, huh?" she stared at her crimson ring, along with the red mark on her fingernail which all of them had in different colors. It was the mark of a Puella Magi, as they have had these magical powers for 13 years already.

"Yeah, and I hope it stays that way," Teacher Miki stretched her arms, wringing her hands, "Only God knows what would happen if they found out."

Agreeing with her, the two nodded.

* * *

The sliding doors of a nearby shop slid open and made way for the trio as they exited the store with bags of snacks and ingredients. Nagisa had bought some cheese and milk as her usual snacks and Jean had bought some ingredients to cook dinner for his sister and himself back home. TatsuyA watched Nagisa skip happily around the sidewalk in the sunset light and showed disapproval.

"Nagi, it's dangerous to do that on the sidewalk. We shouldn't keep Miss Tomoe waiting either."

"Lighten up, man, a true adults is always a kid at heart!" Jean exclaimed with a laugh, to his best friend's reluctant acceptance.

The streets were nearly empty at this point of time, not looking so bright and happy as when the sun was still up in the sky. Cars could be seen heading back home and Tatsuya made sure Nagisa didn't attempt anymore of her prancing around, to the latter giving constant childish pouting. Then, their attention was caught when they started hearing someone calling for help.

"A girl?" Jean looked around for the source, hearing more from an alley down the road.

Suddenly, Nagisa bolted dropped her stuff and bolted towards the source of the pleas, Tatsuya and Jean telling her to come back until they ended up following her. They went into a small alley where the roofs blocked out most of the sunlight and they stopped at a dead-end where three teenagers surrounded girl no older than 12. They were high-school students, seniors of Tatsuya and Jean, and they looked rather ruthless from their pulled-up sleeves, scarred faces and piercing decorations.

Nagisa looked at Tatsuya with a face that seemed to ask for permission to act and reluctantly, Tatsuya nodded. He wasn't a fan of violence, but he knew they couldn't just stand by and let this be. With a puffed-up chest, Nagisa intervened, "Hey, you three chowder-heads, how about you pick on someone your own size?"

The three students and the girl noticed them and one with s bandaged cheek similar to Jean's responded in annoyance, the bandage probably being there for show, "The Hell is a runt and two idiots doing in a place like this? Scram!"

The white-haired girl scowled, flicking her pony-tail and spitting on the floor, "I'll have you know I'm 25 years-old, douche, so if you don't wanna have a black eye, how about you leave her alone?!"

"That's right!" Jean joined her, "A true gentleman never strikes a woman! Pack up your tattooed asses and get going, you pieced of disowned garbage!"

Tatsuya was reluctant to fight with them, but when he saw one of the students reaching for a switch blade, he knew there was now no way out and sighed, "Good grief - Nagj, go easy on them, will you?"

"Roger that!" Nagisa cracked her knuckles and narrowed her eyes. At times like these, she wasn't childish in the least, but a hot-blooded biker that no qualms fighting dirty. The sight of a damsel in distress just snapped something inside her, "Hey, tattoo face!" she pointed to the leader who tried taking out a weapon from his jacket, "If you're looking for your knuckle dusters, they're not in there, but in your back pocket!"

The leader showed confusion, but when he checked his jeans for his weapon, he gasped in shock when she was right. Jean and Tatsuya laughed, the two other students showing confusion as the little girl opened her mouth in awe.

Nagisa smirked, "And your next line is: 'How did you know about, you brat?!', right?"

"How'd ya know about that, you damn brat?!" the student bellowed, and then gasped once more at the prediction's results, "What the Hell?!"

"Hehe, if you're wondering how I knew, look at your shirt and hands!" she sharply pointed to the scratches on the back of his hand and the blood underneath his jacket which wasn't his, "If blood's right there, then you must have used it just now with your jacket off! If your jacket was off, then you couldn't have put your knuckle dusters in them!"

The student then snarled and put on his weapon, raising both fists.

"And your next line is: 'The Hell are you going to do about that, you damn bitch?!'"

The leader then sprinted towards Nagisa with his weapon, "The Hell are you going to do about that, you damn bitch?!" he threw a right hook at her, but she dashed sideways, grabbed his arm, kicked him off his feet and slammed him into the ground with one arm twisted behind his back in mere seconds; She was stronger than she looked and the student screamed in pain.

The knuckle dusters on the floor was picked up by Jean, who taunted, "Alright, who's next?"

The other two then ran off with their leader, who Nagisa released and scurried off whimpering like a scared dog that wet itself. He probably did wet himself, since they could smell a foul odor afterwards.

"Easy as pie!" Nagisa laughed.

Walking up to the little girl who's mouth was gaping open in awe, Tatsuya shook her by the shoulder, asking, "Are you alright?"

She stared at him and averted her gaze to someone behind the group before running past all of them to a young girl around Tatsuya's age, standing behind them. She looked like if she had been watching all along.

The little girl clutched her skirt, happily exclaiming, "Meer!"

Tatsuya looked at the girl named "Meer", who had ocean-blue hair that reached her shoulders, a thick scarf around her neck, spectacles and a blank, aloof expression as she patted the little girl on the head. A glimmer of sunset light reflected of a ring on her finger which had a red mark on the fingernail.


	5. Chapter 4: A Night of Magic

_**A/N: I'm glad you all are enjoying it, so far. It's honestly fun writing Tatsuya as a teenager surrounded by maybe-abnormal friends with him lying closest to the normal side.**_

* * *

As the day reached the final minutes of the sunset, a calm wind blew through the alley where Tatsuya and his friends stood and looked at the aloof girl in front of them. A strange aura surrounding her person, the bespectacled girl patted the little girl the group had saved with a ringed hand, blank eyes turning their attention to the trio with unknown intent. Noticing this rather awkward silence, Tatsuya was the first to break the cold ice.

"Are you this girl's guardian?" he asked politely and waited for a reply. He felt uncomfortable when the scarf girl's eyes scanned his body from head to toe, adjusting her glasses before giving some sort of hand signals to the little girl beside her. Tatsuya recognized it as something mute used to communicate with others, but he couldn't decipher her message as he wasn't fluent in it.

But the little girl easily understood her hand signals and translated it for the three. She seemed nervous at first, but she was braver that they took her for, "T-Thank you for... helping me just now. My name is Tianzi Li-Mei. This is Meer Feuer, my friend," she gestured to the scarf girl, who gave a simple wave with a blank face. Nagisa and Jean could also feel her eyes scanning their bodies, but Jean didn't mind as he found the girl somewhat cute, "We're tourists from Germany, and Meer would like you thank you for saving me."

"Ah, it was nothing!" Nagisa chuckled loudly, scratching her neck and then quietly adding under her breath, "I wouldn't mind getting a gift, though."

Tianzi's face was painted red, she waved her arms and gave a crooked smile, "I-It's only a small gift, nothing big, but Meer wants to give it to you all as thanks. Really."

Meer nodded and the three looked at each other for a while before accepting the offer. It was getting dark soon and they had to head back to Miss Tomoe's café after picking up the food they dropped on the ground earlier. They decided to make this quick and efficient, "Eh, why not? A gift is a gift," Jean nonchalantly said, rubbing his chin as he eyed Meer's figure. He blushed when Meer caught him in the act and quickly averted his gaze somewhere else.

Approaching them in a silent stride, Meer's hands took out a small deck of cards from her back-pocket. They bore a rather strange design and Tatsuya swore he saw these designs from a book he had on his shelf. A set of 21 cards, which he vaguely remembered as the 'Tarot' deck. Meer shuffled these cards skillfully in her hands and aptly handed them to Nagisa with all the cards facing down. She gave a simple gesture with one hand, asking her to take any one of them at random.

"Alright!" Nagisa chirped, taking the one around the top and raising it up high in the sky. Staring at its bizarre markings with a mouth in the shape of a small 'o', the picture on the card showed an old man with a lantern the words below him reading as 'The Hermit', "Oh, this looks pretty cool!" she beamed, taking out her wallet to store the card inside it, "Thanks!"

Shuffling the deck again, Meer handed it to this time Jean. He quietly gazed into Meer's aqua eyes before he snapped back to reality and pulled one from the middle. The corners of Jean's mouth moved confusingly as his one had the picture of a knight riding a chariot being pulled by two animals; The words read as 'The Chariot', "I don't really know what is this, but, I guess it looks kinda nice. Come on, Tatsuya, take yours."

Finally, Meer handed the deck to the pink-haired boy, shuffling it once more before getting him to pick his own Tarot card. Tatsuya stared at the cards, then reached for the bottom stack. But when his hand made contact with hers, there was a tiny shimmer of energy and Meer jumped. She recoiled in shock, and stared at the him with wide eyes as the trio looked confused.

"What's wrong, Meer?" Tianzi asked, tugging her shirt.

For a while, Meer was unresponsive, as she stared at her hand and blinked twice. Meer then shook her head and outstretched her arm once more to give Tatsuya his card, gesturing to Tianzi that nothing was wrong, even if it obviously wasn't so. So, reaching again with his right hand, Tatsuya noticed Meer staring at his arm as he slowly drew out his card from the bottom. There was a picture of a woman pouring water into a river under a starlit sky, the card named as 'The Star'.

Putting away her cards, Meer excused herself and grabbed Tianzi's hand to take their leave. Tianzi was perplexed by the aqua-haired girl's sudden action and looked back once more at the group to wave goodbye, "Again, t-thank you for just now," as they abruptly left for someplace else, the trio stared at their cards that reflected some of the seeping moonlight growing ever more obvious above. Nagisa then remembered what they were doing and sprinted back for the food they dropped on the floor before heading back to Miss Tomoe's café. Jean and Tatsuya followed her after storing their 'gifts' in their wallets.

As they ran back to where they needed to be with their food, snacks and ingredients in hand, they didn't notice the electric-like energy shimmering at Tatsuya's fingers. Most precisely, at the tips of his right hand.

* * *

"Sorry, we're late!" Nagisa shouted as the trio barged through the doors of the café in a hurry. On the way in, Jean tripped on a crack in the floor and fell flat on his face with the other two wincing behind him. After putting down their stuff, Tatsuya helped him up to his feet and dusted his best friend's uniform as Jean groaned from hitting a checkered floor at mach 5.

"Man... that's gonna hurt in the morning."

The way back here was long and they would have gotten lost if they didn't completely lose track of where they were. Night had already fallen and a small fog was slowly thickening outside. Hitting the floor was the least terrible thing that could have happened to Jean, so he didn't complain.

At the bar counter, the three adults were going to ask where they were, but Teacher Miki couldn't help but burst into laughter at Jean's expense. Miss Tomoe gave her a disapproving frown while Kyoko just raised her shoulders in a light shrug, a stick of Pocky in her mouth, "Didn't think you three would get tired from a small trip to the store. Sayaka must be a crap teacher."

Sayaka stopped laughing and started glaring childishly at Officer Sakura with eyebrows furrowed and cheeks pouting. The redhead looked as if she was used to the response she received, "Just saying."

"We had a small detour," Tatsuya explained, sitting down on some of the tables with Jean and Nagisa. Next to him, the white-haired girl took out a packet of cheese from her snack bag and began chewing down on it like a 9 year-old. Since it was her favorite food ever since she was a kid, there were plenty more present inside her plastic bag. On the other side of the table, Jean was checking the ingredients he bought to make dinner for his sister and himself once he reached home.

Putting her cap back on and picking up the sound of a car outside, Officer Sakura flashed a smile and jerked a pointed a finger to the window, "Well, it looks like you three came right on time."

The trio looked behind, and in the misty parking space outside, they saw a black & pink car park itself right next to Nagisa's crude bike. The headlights turned off and Tatsuya beamed at the sight of the person who stepped out of the vehicle. The doors opened, and the driver came in, humming a song with her tie loose, a suitcase in her hand and her pink hair all let down. Kaname Madoka greeted them all with her usual happy smile, "Hey, everyone, long time no see!"

"Madoka!" Teacher Miki exclaimed, sprinting at her with arms wide before she embraced the shorter girl with a powerful hug. She fiercely rubbed her cheek against Madoka's, receiving a plea of release from the girl while Officer Sakura stared in utter envy. Miss Tomoe patted her sympathetically on the back, as even it had been a while since Sayaka and Madoka met due to being busy with work, Officer Sakura couldn't help but feel jealous at Teacher Miki's ignorance for personal space when it came to Madoka.

Tatsuya made a deliberately loud cough, shooting a flat stare at his P.E teacher, "Sister Miki, can you please let go of my sister? You're acting like a teenager."

The blonde Frenchman nudged him on the elbow, saying with a flick of a wrist, "Aw, just let the adults have some fun. I'm sure your sister doesn't mind, right?"

"Let me go, Sayaka!" Madoka pleaded with an innocent voice, trying to break free of her best friend's iron grip. A tint of pink appeared on her cheeks as Sayaka continued to rub them with her own, "Sayaka...!"

Before Officer Sakura could club her housemate good with a police baton, the lights suddenly blacked out and left the group in complete darkness. Nagisa was heard shrieking and Tatsuya felt something grab him as the block proceeded to lose all its power. But as the owner of the store and with good knowledge of where everything was, Miss Tomoe headed to the storage room in the darkness with ease to fetch some flashlights and candles. Tatsuya and Jean opened up their cellphones as improvised flashlights.

In the dimness, Tatsuya looked behind and saw Nagisa clinging onto him like a scared cat. She was shivering, and all Tatsuya did was to try and comfort her with a hesitant pat on the back. Nagisa was always the older, more daring one, but she always had a fear of the dark, "Odd, I thought the power station was already repaired after the accident last week?"

Officer Sakura cussed out some words when she accidentally hit a stool with her knee and filled the silence with filthy words Tatsuya was used to hearing as a kid. Meanwhile, Sayaka went back to her seat and guided Madoka to her own by holding hands. Jean looked out the windows to see if there was anything going on outside, but the gathering fog was making even that difficult.

Miss Tomoe returned with some flashlights and candles, placing some lit candles around the place with Jean and Officer Sakura's help after the latter stopped her cussing; Madoka and Sayaka were having a small chat at the counter over some tea that was still warm and Tatsuya and Nagisa were checking out the fog outside through the windows. To Miss Tomoe, the blackout was not worrying in the least, but the fog was, as it grew thicker and thicker to a point it was bizarre. Fogs like these never happened at this time of the year.

"Something wrong, Mami?" Officer Sakura rubbed her knee, noticing the café owner narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the door.

"Sakura," she sternly said, feeling a menacing aura from the fog, "Keep your guard up."

Suddenly, the double-doors slowly creaked open by themselves, and the echo of a footstep drew everyone's attention as the fog began seeping into the café. Tatsuya took a step towards them to close the doors, but the echoing footsteps became ever more prominent. They were slow, drawn-out, and each gave him a bad feeling about what was approaching them. A chill ran down Nagisa's spine, as she held onto his uniform by the edges while Teacher Miki sensed a presence she had not felt for a long time. Miss Tomoe heard a large amount of static from her antique radio and quickly turned it off, Officer Sakura's hand instinctively nearing her pistol holster.

A silhouette then took shape in the fog, the slender shape of a tall woman who entered the café, wearing a strap-less, purple dress with amethyst earrings which jangled in the quiet. Her face framed by shadow and fog, her silky, raven hair flowed with the wind, her transparent, alabaster skin reflected the moonlight and her sensuality making even the most beautiful woman pale in comparison. When she opened her mouth, she speak with a voice that stealthily attempted to pierce hearts with words that held a dangerous sweetness.

"I would like to ask for your services, if I may, Tomoe Mami. Would you be so kind to do so?"

Tatsuya, Jean and Nagisa did not know who this mysterious person was, but their guardians definitely did. Miss Tomoe, Officer Sakura and Teacher Miki, along with Madoka, knew this woman from their middle-school years. Having not seen her for nearly a decade with the exception of random encounters and a few meetings, they knew nothing much about her except for her name was Akemi Homura. Although a distant, ominous girl, Miss Tomoe calmly answered the woman's question like the mature woman she was.

"I'm sorry, but we are closed for the meantime," she said with a hint of coldness, gesturing the candles set around her café, "As you can see, we're in no condition to take orders, and most my workers have already left. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No. I was not planning on dining here," Homura replied with an indifferent tone, a finger touching her chin as Madoka felt like she was being undressed by unseen eyes. Homura smirked ever so slightly and made Teacher Miki's blood run cold, strangely asking, "If I may, have any of you seen a group of rather... 'suspicious' girls in this town? I would be most thankful if you were to tell me about them."

For some reason, hearing that made Tatsuya think of those two girls he met earlier in the alley. But due to Homura's ominous aura, and her unknown reasons for seeking such girls, he chose not to speak. Tatsuya then felt her shadowed eyes turn to him, as if she had read his mind the moment he thought about Meer and Tianzi. A drop of sweat trailing down his cheek, Nagisa tugged onto his uniform as they and Jean felt the mysterious woman look at them. They didn't need to see her eyes, they could already _feel_ them.

Teacher Miki clearly saw the growing panic on their faces and aggressively answered Homura's question without thinking of any reason for why she would inquire such a thing, "No, we haven't seen any of these 'weird' girls around. If we did, we'd tell the police first," for a moment, she saw amethyst eyes venomously glare at her and Teacher Miki's body flinched. She was about to continue, but Homura stopped her questions there.

"Hmph... I see... I shall take my leave then," she calmly spoke, spinning around with her flick of her hair. She looked back to Tatsuya and Madoka for a moment, smiling devilishly once more, before heading back outside and merging with the fog. Her silhouette promptly disappeared, along with the atmosphere that made the hair on their necks stand. As a matter of fact, the lights came back on and every building outside the café had their power restored in an instant. The antique radio near Miss Tomoe continued to play out some soft violin music.

It was as if her very presence caused the blackout and fog.

"Who... Who the _Hell_ was that?" Jean asked, feeling like a bunch of weights had been lifted off his shoulders.

Teacher Miki answered his question with a tone that implied something happened between her and Homura. It felt lifeless compared to her usual tone, as she held Officer Sakura's hand and squeezed it tight, "That... was Akemi Homura; she was a classmate of Madoka, Kyoko and I. We never really got to know here that much over the years... but, sometimes, I feel like she's a friend of ours, and at times... I wouldn't even want to stay within 10 feet of her."

Officer Sakura agreed with her, adjusting her cap by the bill, "That girl always look like she's up to something."

As the fog faded away with Homura's presence, Tatsuya took out the card he received from that girl, Meer Feuer, wondering just who she was and if she was one of the girls that woman was asking for. Nagisa clapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to see her face that basically asked if he was alright. Tatsuya gave a smile in return to calm her worries, pocketing away the Tarot card as in the back of his mind, he felt curious about that Meer Feuer girl. Just who was she?

* * *

After that encounter with Akemi Homura, the group proceeded back to their homes, tired from a long, stressful day. Jean went back to his house where he lived with his sister, having driven back there by Madoka and Tatsuya since he lived nearby. Teacher Miki and Officer Sakura drove back to their apartment within the city, and Miss Tomoe returned to her own apartment. As punishment for speeding earlier in the morning, Nagisa had been sent to Tatsuya's house with a 1-day ban from Mami's apartment. It was simple practice that was held whenever Nagisa got in trouble.

As the hands on Tatsuya's wall clock hit midnight, Tatsuya sat on his rocking chair, reading a book about Tarot cards under a lamp with a pair of reading glasses. Nagisa slept on his bed, draped in thick blankets as she hugged a big pillow. Her ring sitting next to Tatsuya's stopwatch on a drawer, Tatsuya flipped the pages of his book as he continued his research on the famous Tarot cards.

From what he could find, the Tarot was a pack of playing cards used from mid-15th century to play card games. By the 18th century, they were founded to be used by mystics as a map of mental and spiritual pathways. There are numerous sets, but the one Tatsuya received came from the Major Arcana, the most popular set. 'The Star', which Tatsuya received, frequently symbolized things such as calmness, hope, optimism and good will. Nagisa's one, 'The Hermit', symbolized guidance, inner search, solitude and introspection. And as for Jean's 'Chariot', it symbolized impulsiveness, bravery, victory and honor. All in all, they were cards that were used to represent a person's personality.

A sore headache came to Tatsuya and he gripped his forehead in annoyance. Letting out a low growl, he closed his book, settled it on a desk and dragged himself to his bathroom sink. Tatsuya opened the tap and rinsed his face in fresh water.

Closing it, he gripped the sides of his sink and sighed.

This was the 13th night where he had felt like this. A splitting headache that comes out of nowhere for unknown reasons and disappears by time. It was like how he fell sick for an entire year once. Ever since then, he would have these kind of nights. No doctor could give him a good cure for this and the effects would come and go, but this was already beginning to tire him out.

_"Meer Feuer... Akemi Homura..."_

Reaching for a few sleeping tablets near his toothbrush, a flash of pink appeared in his mind. His arm right arm froze in place, and Tatsuya felt that he was not alone. But he was not scared. No. Tatsuya felt the presence of someone he knew.

Looking up at his mirror, Tatsuya's eyes widened.

His reflection was replaced with a tall, young woman with pink hair that reached the floor. Her amber eyes glowed like pure gold and her flowing dress was as white as winter snow. A black, worn-out choker restrained her by the neck and the smile the woman had was warm, yet, heartbreaking to see. Tatsuya didn't know who she was or if she was real, but his conscious seemingly did, as he felt the presence of a physical god in front of him.

"Are you...?"

The woman raised a hand with a long, white glove, and Tatsuya unknowingly reflected the action. Their hands met on the mirror's surface and when they touched, he felt a warm sensation. It felt so familiar and Tatsuya's eyes locked with the woman's, unable to move his gaze away as energy shimmered around his right hand like electricity. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded him and Tatsuya retracted his hand to rub his eyes. When Tatsuya reopened them, the woman was gone, and all that implied as he stared back at his reflection in confusion.

Tatsuya turned around and saw Nagisa standing at the bathroom doorway, yawning as her hair was a complete mess, "What's going on? I thought heard something just now."

Still confused, Tatsuya approached Nagisa and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking back at the mirror just in case, "Just... go back to sleep. It's already late. We don't want to lose some sleep now, do we?" he smiled and the white-haired girl diligently nodded. As Tatsuya quickly tucked her back into his bed and pulled out a futon from underneath to sleep on, his thoughts remained fixated on the woman he saw in the mirror.

He lied his head on his pillow, eyes staring at the ceiling as only one word came to mind to who he thought that was.

_"Sister?"_


	6. Chapter 5: The Maidens of Battle I

The next morning, Tatsuya woke up with Nagisa snoring loudly on top of him, drool leaking from her mouth as he could only mutter, "Good grief". Waking her up before his sister could see them like this, Nagisa quickly packed her things and drove back to Mami's apartment first thing in the morning after thanking them for letting her sleepover again. She acted like nothing had happened, but that, and a combination of last night's bizarre events, gave Tatsuya a sore headache that he didn't need at the moment.

After some breakfast, Tatsuya was sent to school by Madoka's car this time to prevent another speeding incident. Her way back to the apartment might have caused one already, though. But now safely arrived in school, Tatsuya proceeded with his usual routine of Teacher Miki and Teacher Saotome's hellish lessons on his mind and body. Break time soon came and today, the club's were beginning to give out enlistment forms, so Jean headed for the Fencing club while Tatsuya went for the Archery club.

The clubroom was as big as Tatsuya remembered, having floorboards covered by a traditional straw mat, good air-conditioning, a lunch table and some files scattered on work tables due to minor student incompetence. Practice was always done out in the school backyard, and since it was only time to enlist, nobody was present to greet Tatsuya. The place was like a ghost town.

"Did I come too early?" he wondered to himself, stepping into the nostalgic atmosphere of the room. There was a bow and quiver on a nearby rack and a targeting board on the wall that had multiple marks on it, "Hello?" he said out loud and jumped when a student sprung up from her nap on the floor behind a table. Tatsuya knew her as one of the older members of the club, "W-What were you doing doing down there, Hibiki?"

A freckled girl with a weird case of having different eye colors, Hibiki yawned and leap to her feet in an instant, dusting the files off her messy dyed hair, "Oh, I was just taking a small nap. Didn't really expect anyone to show at this kind of time, so I thought some shut-eye wouldn't hurt," she burped, "I'm not surprised it's you who came so early."

"Just how long have you-? Wait, forget I asked," Tatsuya rubbed his forehead with two fingers and sighed, "I'm just here to sign up for club. Where's the Club President, Takasaki, was it? I remember that I need to talk to him for this."

Hibiki nonchalantly picked her nose, which irked Tatsuya to no end, "Oh, Takasaki? He kinda went out with his girlfriend for some lunch. I think her name was Sakurai, or something?" she ignored the disappointed sigh from Tatsuya and shrugged, "Well, you can just sign up for now. Here," she handed him an enlistment form with a stain of cola on it. She had no problems while Tatsuya was probably holding back a complaint, "Just sign this, take that bow over there and show me what you got!"

Hesitantly, Tatsuya took out a pen and filled in the form, giving it to her and taking up the bow from the rack. The grip was rather good and the bow had a sturdy feel to it, "Are you sure I'm supposed to do this? I don't remember doing this last year."

"Whatev's. That was last year," Hibiki lazily lied back on a chair, "I just wanna see what you can do, sunshine."

"Good grief," Tatsuya muttered under his breath, raising the bow and taking out an arrow from the quiver. Aiming at the damaged-looking targeting board in the wall, he pulled back the string with the arrow and took aim. Letting go, the arrow launched and stabbed straight into the center. Tatsuya smirked at his perfect shot, "Guess I still got it."

"Bullseye!" Hibiki exclaimed, slapping him hard on the back with too much force, "Now, try and get another one!"

Not wanting to waste anymore time doing this needless mini-game, Tatsuya took one more arrow, pulled back the string again and shot another arrow. This time it dive straight again into the center and split apart the previously-shot arrow. With the first one peeled in two and the second wedged into the first, Hibiki's jaw unhinged as Tatsuya placed the bow back on the rack and rolled his shoulders.

"Call me when Takasaki wants to see me. I gotta meet with a friend for lunch," Tatsuya calmly requested, bowing before leaving the club room. Closing the door quietly, his phone rang and Tatsuya took it out of his pocket to answer a call from his sister, "Oh, sister?" he spoke on the way back to class, "Well, Takasaki wasn't there when I came, but I did give my form. Wait, I think someone else is calling me."

Tatsuya switched the line on his phone through a simple touch on the holographic interface and pressed it to his ear again, "Tatsuya?" Miss Tomoe's voice was heard over the line, sounding worried.

"Is there something wrong, Sister Tomoe?"

"If you do not mind, I need to you to do a favor for me, Tatsuya. When Nagi got back this morning, she got a small cold from driving in the weather outside-" a loud sneeze was heard in the background, along with some coughing and whining for hot soup, "-so I want you to do her deliveries for me, please. You're already old enough to handle the bike, aren't you?"

Tatsuya nodded, forgetting he was on the phone, "Of course, Sister Tomoe. I'm sure you're already busy with Nagi. I'll tell Jean about this, too."

"Thank you. I'll have the bike sent to the cafe after school."

The call ended and Tatsuya went to switch back to his sister's call. Then, something dropped from his pocket and Tatsuya bent down to pick up the Tarot card he received last night. Looking at it, he thought of Meer Feuer, Akemi Homura and shrugged them off to the back of his mind. Calmly telling himself that he had no business with them, Tatsuya went back to class while he continued talking with his sister.

* * *

As the afternoon sun shone in a sky of mixing white and blue above Mitakihara, a street extending out of the main city and residential areas lead to a small, secluded suburb where only the rich could afford to live. Giant mansion estates owned by the wealthiest of Mitakihara, one was owned by a Maiden of Battle who served under Selena Bismark. Set up as a gathering point and their base of command in this city, this future battleground, it was a convenient place to rest and prepare for days as they spent a full week setting up.

In the regimental barracks, Meer Feuer awoke to someone tapping her shoulder. Getting up and putting her specs on, she turned around on her bed to face a fellow Maiden: Regina Ghiaccio. A sister-like figure to most Maidens and Meer herself, she was of Italian descent to Meer's German. She was wearing the kind of outfit one would see in bizarre fashion magazines, as Meer could barely begin to describe it with the exception of its weird asymmetry and multiple belts.

Still tired from last night's patrol, Meer rubbed her eyes and gestured the words with her definite stoic face, "What is it, Regina?"

"Wake up already, sleepyhead!" Regina exclaimed, pinching Meer's cheeks and patting her on the shoulder, to no reaction from the girl, "It's time for lunch! I made my special tomato & cheese again and this time it didn't create an explosion! I think."

The bespectacled girl's face momentarily lit at the mention of food and Meer slowly slid off her bed to stand on a carpeted floor in a nightgown. The entire room which spanned and stood to 20 meters was filled with bunk beds of varying cleanliness and they were all empty as most of the Maidens had already gone off for patrols, practice, meditation or food, "How long was I sleeping?" Meer signaled, putting on a small robe similar to a Nun's and her blue scarf to cover her neck scars. She had just arrived her last night, so her suitcase was still full.

"It's 12 o'clock already. Most of the girls went off to the mess hall for some grub," Regina flexed an arm and smiled, "Want a tour of the place? You looked really tired when you got back with Tianzi last night. Did you see anything interesting?"

Meer remembered the meeting with that boy last night and curled up the fingers that felt that warm energy which came from his hand. She never got his name, but that boy definitely was not normal in the slightest or aware of what he had. The energy was also unfamiliar, but it definitely was something that felt powerful. Puffing, Meer replied to Regina's question with a shake of her head and her offer with a nod.

"Alright! Let's get going!" Regina suddenly wrapped an arm around Meer's neck and dragged off the sleepy girl to the door which she kicked open and closed with just as much force. If Meer could voice out a complaint, she would have done it in the very first second.

The Maidens of Battle's mansion was enormous as Regina was loud as she talked and greeted every Maiden that scurried past the loud and silent duo. With most of the Maidens already here, they made an effort to keep the place clean, standing, and most of all, safe. The place was around the same size or maybe a bit bigger than their base in Germany, and was just as heavily guarded with sniper patrols monitoring from the rooftops in camouflage.

In her head, Meer had to admit that it was amazing for an army of young girls and woman to become a fighting force dedicated to killing a Devil that they see in their dreams. Lead by Selena Bismark and her high-ranking Maidens, Meer never imagined that she'd be part of such a faction that started as a small cult of orphans who had nothing to lose.

The first place Regina dragged Meer to was the weapon barracks, where Maidens practiced their aim and blades or other shapes of fighting in a large dome-shaped room. Duels and sparring was common, along with the use of magic, and when they entered the the room, a large fireball accidentally stroked the viewing glass beside the main entrance, melting it into liquid. Regina didn't notice that when they entered, but Meer quickly avoided walking near it as she could feel the immense heat from just being near it.

The instructor in charge of the area was a tall girl named Madeline Taylor. She monitored all the Maidens making their way through all the exercises she threw at them such as rings of fire, automatic sentry guns and various traps that could be sprung by just being near it. Madeline was giving her best attempts at cheering them on before Regina and Meer approached her. The training instructor greeted the Italian Maiden with a handshake, "Came to see the recruits?"

"Nah, I was just showing Meer here how the place is. It's definitely much more comfy than the icy Hell back at Germany, right, Meer?" she looked at her friend, who gave a disappointing gesture of disagreement with her hands, "Aw, come on! I was freezing my butt off 24/7 back there!"

Madeline stifled a laugh with a hand, "Well, if you're not doing anything, I suggest you head to the meditation rooms. Margaret needs some help with setting up the place and most of the Maidens already have their hands full."

"Gotcha!" Regina wrapped her arm around Meer again, who expected that already, "Come on, Meer! Let's go help Little Marge. See ya, Madeline!"

As Meer was dragged away to the door, Madeline waved them off before continuing to spectate her trainees.

The next place they went to was a much more nicer and quieter place to be in. The meditation rooms, where Maidens were being taught by their superiors in the proper usage of their offensive and defensive magic, it was wide room where groups of students sat in peace while some seniors were putting up tools and teaching materials. Meer loved the peaceful atmosphere of it and entered the room with a mouth open in awe, but Regina found it boring and quickly tried to find Margaret. She wasn't the type to be in these kind of places.

Meer halted in her steps, putting a hand on her stomach as it growled. Regina seemed to hear it with her sharp ears and turned back to her, saying, "You can head to the mess hall if you want to. I guess I'll meet you there once I'm done. Try not to get lost on the way, alright?"

Nodding, Meer turned around and opened the door to head back into the hallway. Before she left, she looked back and saw Regina meeting with Margaret, one of the magic instructors of the Maidens. Feeling her stomach growling again, Meer entered the corridor and looked both ways before heading to find the mess hall.

* * *

The mess hall was a room larger than most of the ones Meer had already seen, with most of them she had accidentally entered when she got lost on the way here and had to be redirected by the other busy Maidens. The stomach-growling, mouth-drooling smell of food was in the air and Meer wasted no time getting in line with a tray which, after 10 minutes of food picking from the buffet set for them, was piled up with a mixture of all sorts of dishes. From Italian, to Chinese, Russian, Germany and Middle Eastern, Meer sat at an empty table among other filled ones.

The place, like the other rooms, were being decorated with monuments and shrines that honored the religious figure they knew. One stone statue of this figure stood beside Meer, a statue of a woman with long-flowing hair and a lengthy, multi-tailed dress of snow white as she held a long bow. Being the imprisoned Goddess all the Maidens had seen in their dreams before joining this faction, no one knew who she truly was except that she called for them to help her.

Meer clasped her hands in a prayer to this goddess before she stuffed herself in the delicious meal as Maidens sitting at the other tables chatted and bantered with each other. Young and old, it was the most lively room she had seen so far in this place. Meer would have continued stuffing herself with food if her ears didn't pick up the conversation coming from the table behind her.

"Hey, how come someone like Selena gets to lead us? She's only 19, for God's sake. Aren't there a lot of better candidates for Canoness?"

"There are. I think Selena only got to be leader because she started this whole thing," there was a laugh, "Man, what'd I do to be leader..."

Meer's grip on her fork and knife tightened as she swallowed a mouthful of food and frowned. Setting them down and wiping her mouth with a tissue, she stood up and was about to give them a lecture for what they were talking about, when suddenly, she heard another, deep voice interject in this gossip. This voice sounded strict and had a sense of pride and discipline to it, as Meer turned around to see the Maiden that had already begun doing the scolding.

The girl was the owner of the mansion herself: Jade Hui-Lang. A girl with red hair styled into a bob-cut and earrings styled in the shape of cherries, she gave the girls behind Meer an lengthy earful, "I suggest you keep those thoughts to yourself if you two want to continue sleeping with a roof over your head, trainees. If you two have something to say, I highly suggest you speak to **me**. Otherwise, I'd see to it that what you two just said be sent to the Canoness herself as a report. Am I clear?"

The two Maidens behind Meer recoiled in fear, answering in unison as they shuddered, "Yes, Ma'am! W-We're sorry!"

Jade flicked her hair, her cherry earrings jangling as she gave them a cold stare, "Good. Carry on," she noticed Meer behind them and the frown on her face did not wither, "Meer Feuer," Jade greeted her with a respectful Chinese bow, "I see to it that your stay has been most comfortable?"

Meer nodded, looking away from Jade as she felt a sudden intensity in the air. Jade and her were never all that friendly back in Germany, mainly since they never could hold a proper conversation for at least three to five minutes. The silence between would have continued if Regina didn't suddenly burst into the room, complaining loudly about something and seeing the pair giving each other the cold shoulder, "Hey, you two, enjoying the food?!" she hollered, coming between them to wrap her arms around their necks.

Jade wasn't so comfortable with such skin-ship, as her face turned red as the earrings she wore, "R-Regina, I have told you so many times that I don't like being touched-!"

"Aw, just deal with it. It's not like I'm trying to kill you or anything," Regina laughed, looking at the two with a smile, "So, you two still going at it, or you two finally thinking of getting friendly?"

Arms no longer around her neck, Jade loosened the collar of her clothing and replied, "I prefer that we not talk about that. Now, if you two shall excuse me, I have work to do," she clasped her hands and bowed, leaving them with just that as she shuffled through the tables in the mess hall. Leaving the pair alone, Meer calmly sat back down and continued eating.

"Man, does she need to let loose sometimes," Regina complained as she sat beside Meer and sighed.

* * *

In the war room that was situated in the most secure room of the mansion, the double-doors were guarded by Maidens that were handpicked by Selena herself to be her personal vanguard. Maidens around the room hurried past over thick cables leading to computers, stacks of files in their arms as they worked the best they could to keep the entire faction intact and working as a mobile unit. In the middle of the room was a huge square table, displaying a holographic map of Mitakihara city and a smaller one of the world.

Selena, wearing her armored dress, stood with hands folded behind her back as she discussed with the high-ranking Maidens of the faction: Trish Enigma, the Maiden second only to Selena, was a calm and composed girl who was eating a sorbet as they went on with their talks. Beside her was Jasmine Wanita, a dark-skinned girl who was silent as she wise, and beside her, Merry Clover, who sat on her chair as she had her feet on the square table. Selena ignored her rude behavior as it was common and continued her discussion.

"Alright, it has been a week since we came here and only 2/3 of our forces have arrived from Germany," Selena pointed her finger to the secondary map of the world and clicked it, making a display of the weather that was currently happening around Germany, "Since a massive storm has been growing there, all flights had been cancelled and Jasmine's seers say that this weather will not die down soon. Correct, Jasmine?"

The dark-skinned girl nodded, speaking in a wise, all-knowing tone, "This weather's uprising is not natural, Canoness, as my seers predict that this may be the work of the Devil. She may be slowly closing in on our location and they say this curtain of stealth we have been hiding in for years may soon be torn away from us."

Closing the display of the world and pointing her finger to the map of Mitakihara, Selena continued, "Jasmine's seers have been giving me these reports since we got here and it's been giving be a bad feeling. Since I don't want to risk us losing the opportunity of a surprise attack, I have a proposal that I've gathered you all here for," the Mitakihara map zoomed in on an area around the outskirts of town, secluded from the city with only being near a few residential houses, "We lure the Devil here and strike. Using the Ripple Vials Nibey had supplied us, we can temporarily weaken her long enough for us to eliminate her."

Merry was the only one to complain, "Hey, hey, now. You're expecting us to win when we only have around half of freakin' army here?!" she spat out the toothpick in her mouth, "You trying to get us killed or something?"

"Clover!" Trish scolded her with a wave of a small whip she had, lashing the air with a loud crack, "With the Ripple Vials, we have a chance of winning. Even with most of our Regiments at half their strength, we can surely kill the Devil. The Ripple Vials are that dependable, are they not, Canoness?"

Selena cleared her throat, "Yes. From what Nibey says, we can use them to momentarily weaken the Devil's powers significantly. While she is weakened, we have the chance of ending her as a mortal. That is all I have to say. Now that you all know what I have in mind, which one of you do I have in agreement?"

Trish and Jasmine were the only ones who raised their hands, as Merry stubbornly folded her arms and looked away. Selena expected this and frowned at the girl's behavior, "Good. We make our move tonight. Since Merry here is too hesitant about this, Jasmine, Trish and I shall lead the assault while she stays back with some of our forces as a reserve unit. Is that fine with you, Merry?"

The American Maiden got off her chair which feel to the floor, pocketing her hands as she made her way out of the room, "Whatever you say, Bismark. It's not like I can do anything about it," she spat, "Just try not to get us killed."

Trish was going to scold her again, but Selena raised a hand to stop her, watching the Maiden leave the room and slam the door closed. Feeling like something had been lifted off her shoulders, Selena sat on a chair and put a hand to her forehead. Jasmine patted her on the shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, saying, "It's alright. I'm sure she'll follow her orders, Canoness."

"That girl's been getting on my nerves lately," Trish growled, curling up and holstering her whip, "Can't she learn just a bit of respect for once?"

Getting off her seat, Selena switched off the holographic display of the map, looking out of the window and leaning on the wall, "You two may head back," she said, "We have a lot to prepare for tonight. Tell the Maidens that it is time."

The two bowed at the order and left the room respectfully, as Selena continued looking out into the distance where the city of Mitakihara was. A bird perching ona finger she raised, she wondered just how can such a peaceful-looking city harbor the devil of the universe? _It was time to fight_, she thought. Many of her Maidens were going to die tonight for sure, and after all these years, she can finally finish the duty that had been put on her shoulders the moment she formed an alliance with Nibey.

The bird on her finger flying off, Selena spoke to her officers to take care of business before she headed back to her quarters. She felt like she needed to talk to someone.

* * *

Back in the barracks, Meer lied down on her bed as she shuffled the deck of Tarot cards she had in her hands. Her hair spread about on her pillow, she eyed each one as she thought about that boy last night. The Tarot card she gave him, The Star, was it simply out out of blind luck did he get that card, or did it foretell something greater that was about to happen to him? As her favorite hobby of fortune telling back in Germany, this was a big deal to her. Meer's thoughts were interrupted as the window near her bed popped opened, and Nibey came in, wearing a scarf around his neck while carrying a satchel in his mouth.

"Oh, it appears I came in the wrong window," he said to himself, hopping down on the floor and seeing that he was in the barracks. Putting down the sack on the floor to scratch its ears with its foot. it looked back and saw Meer, "Oh, hey Meer. You know where's Selena? I got something good to deliver her," he said deviously.

Curious, Meer got off her bed and crouched down near the Incubator. She held up the satchel and it felt its heavy weight in her hand, "What's this?" she signaled with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, this? It's a new weapon I've been making," Nibey proudly said and Meer nonchalantly emptied the sack, turning it upside down to let its contents fall to the floor, "Hey careful! This wasn't easy to make."

Falling to the floor with a thud, was a gauntlet that caught Meer's attention quickly. With sharp fingertips that could stab a man's eye out, it was silver in color and had pink beads engraved into the hard magical alloy it was likely made out of. On the back of the palm was an orb, covered in glass as light from the window reflected off the gauntlet. Meer scratched her head, asking with a tilt of her head and a gesture, "What is this?"

"The Hand," Nibey boasted, his scarred tail flickering, "It's a weapon I want to show to Selena since we've been developing this thing for months. Now, I need you to-"

When Meer tried to grab the gauntlet to put it back in its sack, the same energy Meer had felt last night from that boy flowed out of her fingertips and came into contact with The Hand. Having most likely been a leftover from the hand contact Meer had, it caused a spark as The Hand started up with a high-pitched whine, the orb on it shined with a blinding light and it's sharp finger tips wriggled violently. Both Nibey and Meer hopped behind the nearest bunk bed to avoid anything that could happen, the blue-haired girl ducking behind the bed with the incubator in her arms.

The whining went on for minutes and then died down slowly. Poking her head out of cover, Nibey slowly walked up to the gauntlet and placed a paw on its surface. It was hot to the touch and smoke poured from the orb built into it, "... What did you just do?" he whispered.


End file.
